John 4:43-54
Jesus Heals the Official's Son
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Throughout Jesus' ministry we learn that He is a great healer...We learn this through our reading of the four gospels...The people in Israel during His time, learned of His healing power quickly...Some may have thought He was just a Great Physician...Jesus Himself points, our though that, He is a Prophet...He tells us that a Prophet is not honored in His own country...Only in His hometown, among His relatives and in His own house is a prophet without honor...Jesus could not do any miracles in His hometown, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them...And He was amazed at their lack of faith (Mark 4:4-6)...We must have faith to be healed...Jesus asks the paralyzed man of thirty eight years, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6), so we also want to be healed to be healed...
An certain royal official had a sick son...The royal official was in Cana in the region of Galilee...When this man heard that Jesus was in the town of Cana, he went to see Him...The royal official begged Jesus to come and heal his son, who was close to death...Powerful men, wealthy men, and the famous are not void of pain...The problem of pain and illness effects everyone...The problem of pain, within a royal official's son, made him a beggar...He begged for Jesus' help...This man may have never sought out Jesus, if it were not for his son's pain...
The son was not with the royal official...The royal official was in Cana, while the boy lay sick in Capernaum...Jesus tells the royal official that we as people need to see miraculous signs and wonders or we will never believe...Jesus uses the word "never"...Anyone close to the official would have heard this...But I don't think we take this statement as serious as Jesus who said it, he wants us to think about this statement...If Jesus did not do miracles, no healings, would we believe He was the Son of God...Would our faith be lesser without any miraculous signs and wonders?...My answer to this great question is "yes", our faith would be diminished...Jesus is right in saying we need miracles...We need signs...St. John writes us in chapter six, verse thirty two, they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You?...What will You do?...Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”...We want miracles...Life it seems on a regular basis brings up doubt...Our faith can weaken...We want more evidence, more miracles, and a personal miracle would be nice...Jesus doesn't even have to show it to others, He can just show the miracle to us and we will believe...Then that miracle would drift from us, and later we would want another miracle...
Jesus tells the royal official that he may go, your son will live...The man had faith in Jesus...The official took Jesus at His word and departed...The official met him on his way back to Capernaum to be with his sick son...Some servants were on their way to see the royal official..The official's servants meet him and tell him his boy is better, his fever has broke...The official asks what time did he start getting well, and he learns it is the exact time Jesus said, "Your son will live."...So the royal official and all his household believed...This was the second miracle Jesus performed coming from Judea to Galilee...
We do not know why their is pain...But because of the royal official's son's illness, he seeks out Jesus...His whole household becomes believers...He and his household are better for this...The father and sick son were not together...They were miles apart...When we need Jesus, distance and time are of no consequence...The royal official, to our knowledge, is not a Jew...Jesus helps everyone who seeks Him...Jesus shows compassion...He is divine and is our Saviour...
Jesus did miracles, but does not want our basis for faith to be about miracles, and the foundation of our faith to be about miracles...Jesus when ask if He is the Messiah (and the listeners wanted to be told plainly), He answers I did tell you but you do not believe...The miracles I do in My Father's name speak for Me (John 10:24-25)...